Naturalization in Sport

"Andrés Sebastián Soria Quintana, is a naturalized Qatari footballer who plays as a striker for Lekhwiya" This is the brief introduction of Soria's profile on most websites. Sounds weird? Sebastian = a Qatari name? Well, no, he is a naturalized footballer who now plays regularly for most of Qatar's national team matches and is also extremely popular at club level football. Turns out, that he is not the only one. At a football match that I recently attended in Doha, I noticed that many players had Christian names and did not look Arab as well. As a student of sociology, I found this particularly interesting since one would expect to see the best local players on the national team. So how did this major change happen? and Why?

 

Qatar's National Football team

Club football has contributed a lot to the exchange of players globally. Today, most major clubs world over have international players coming across the border to play for them. The major reasons for this of course are the financial benefits that they may receive and also, the feeling of being associated with a top of the league club. Globalization has had a huge impact on the sports arena. Players, professionals, staff, money and brands have all been and continue to be exchanged across borders at high levels. Football , or Soccer, has always been the number one sport in terms of fan following, television rating points and investments. As an effect of globalization, several players moved to different parts of the world where their talent could be harnessed and they had better opportunities to make money and develop professionally.

The idea of capitalism is of course at the heart of all this change. Club football is probably one of the highest revenue generating form of sport today. Corporations spend millions of dollars on advertising and communication so that their brand gets noticed by the majority. Most major companies like McDonalds and Coca Cola are official sponsors of world class events such as the Olympics, FIFA World Cup etc. This gives them huge exposure which of course any major corporation would love to have. Corporations are known for their extensive support when it comes to subcultures and hence, sport is a major area of interest for all the big brands in the industry today.


                   
                                   The usual sponsors at most events

The process of naturalization is not really new but its just that there is a lot of focus on it today since many countries are practicing it. Several countries today have naturalized players representing various national teams. In Qatar, most sports have naturalized citizens playing for them. In football, table-tennis, basketball, swimming etc. there are several players who are not originally from Qatar. While many players are born in Qatar and perhaps have lived in Qatar all their lives, they wouldn't have been granted citizenship under normal conditions. But, when it comes to sport, this exception seems to be made easily. In class this week, we discussed about variance. It is important to note here that variance can go in both directions. It doesn't necessarily have to be deviant. The idea of naturalized sports persons can also be seen as a form of variance. The team demographics in general isn't deviant in any respect, but there is a level of difference that seems significant. For instance, at the beginning of the national anthem in the Qatar-Japan game, there were hardly any Qatari players who were singing the anthem. The reason being that they probably didn't know them in the first place.


                                           
           The band ready for the anthems

But this is an accepted culture in the world today. The idea of dominant culture is key here. In this case, the dominant culture is the culture of FIFA, that sets the rules and regulations for international football. Players too seem to make the shift without any major issues since ultimately they benefit the most. We discussed the idea of tribalization and de-tribalization in class last week. Given the huge financial incentives, many players don't mind de-tribalizing from their original communities and seek citizenship in other countries.

Still, for varying political reasons, FIFA has deliberately kept eligibility rules rather vague. Its Article 18 reads in full:
1. Any player who is a naturalized citizen of a country in virtue of that country’s laws shall be eligible to play for a national or representative team of that country.

This culture has been introduced and to some extent supported by FIFA and so the other countries just try to adapt and thereby take advantage of the dominant culture and make it look like they are merely adhering to the broader culture. Communication needs to be clear and definite.  Statements such as these need to be more specific and clear. As per this statement, any country could grant citizenship for a period of time and have a particular player represent their country. The homology of FIFA has begun to take a different direction though. Recently, they have introduced strict regulations on the naturalization process. For instance, a player must play at least five years of club football in the country before he/she can represent the country. Qatar has done a great job with following the rules and developing a strategy. Players like Sebastian Soria and others have been around in Qatar for years and they played for Qatar only after clearing the eligibility requirements. The Qatari crowd today loves Sebastian and he is still a key performer in most matches for Qatar. The video below shows how the country embraces Sebastian as their player. Notice the commentator's support too!

                              

While FIFA has set several regulations for this, there are other sports that continue to naturalize players for a short duration. This perhaps need to be re-thought and is in fact a complex debate since it deals with several socio-political domains such as nationality, ethnicity, religion, diplomacy, culture, belief and values. The global sporting arena would be interesting to look at in the coming years.

Education City and Globalization

Doha is one of the fastest urbanizing cities in the world. Since the discovery of natural resources in the 1970’s, the desert city experienced a rapid transformation into skyscrapers, malls, hotels, top-notch American universities and billions of dollars into imported products. The population of Qatar is composed of mostly expatriates who travelled from all around the globe to earn a better life. Since then, it has become a melting pot of cultures, traditions, languages and nationalities; a sociologist's dream! Combined with this sudden flow of global goods, services, people, money and information came resistance. The resistance is mostly represented in the elder generation who feel that this exposition will result in a loss of culture, religious ideologies and language. One example of such resistance arose when Qatar was bidding for the Fifa 2022. Several people opposed the idea of hosting such a big event that would require a lot of ‘openness’ in a society. Their argument stated that the millions of people who plan to attend will not all be familiar with Qatar’s conservative culture or no alcohol, pork or exposed dress code. Controversy also arose from people believing that Qatar would not be ready with enough facilities and capabilities to host the World Cup because it is a new city with not enough infrastructure. This video is one of many that express anger over Qatar's winning.

Another example of resistance comes from youth who oppose Qatar’s relationship with Israel. A group, Youth against Normalization , was set up to boycott Starbucks because it donates some of its profit to Israel, as well as opposing the invitation of Israeli tennis player during Qatar open.

In this blog post I would like to discuss the most popular example of globalization in Qatar; Qatar Foundation's Education City. Education City is a part of Qatar Foundation (non-profit organization) founded by Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser to promote education in region. She had a vision of bringing branches of top educational institutes from abroad to encourage Arab students who may not have the capabilities to travel to attain world-class education. Stemming from an IB education high school, Education city is now home to more than six world-class universities from America and UK. They include Weil Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern University and the latest addition, Harvard Law.


Globalization can be defined as the flow of goods, services, money people, information and culture across political borders. It includes trade, communication and language. Obviously, it would require intensive research and time to illustrate exactly how Education city is a perfect epitome of globalization, however this blog post will address it in general. As with every capitalist organization, the main desire is to grow. Qatar was able to provide several education institutes with a new market of students. Therefore, these corporations hopped on this new geographic location because it was an opportunity to make more profit and grow influence.

 With each institution, different cultures and information, ways of studying and people were brought in. One of the main features of Education City is that it provided education in English, by professors from the main campus, and with the same education that they would receive on the US campus. In Texas A&M, the students participated in Chili cook-offs, Georgetown hosts its diplomatic balls, Northwestern students paint rocks during orientation. These customs are all imported from the USA. Moreover, students learn about American government, American politics and play American sports. Although some of this already existed prior to Qatar Foundation, the placement of these American universities increased their recurrence. To add on to the sharing of communication, some classes are coordinated on Skype calls with the home campuses, some events are reported on by newspapers back in the USA and so on. Also, some exchange programs have been installed to allow students to integrate and interact. It has also allowed Americans to come to the Middle East and learn about the culture here. This is very important because the ME has a very tarnished image in the USA, made even worse after the ‘war on terror’ launched by the Bush administration.

Therefore, it is very clear that American education has had a very ‘globalized’ effect on students. Moreover, the advancements of communication and sharing over the Internet has helped everyone become more involved in the global realm. The video below is a of a student in Qatar Academy recreating a viral dance that went viral on YouTube:

 As with any globalized institute, glocalization has also occurred. Glocalization can be defined as a cultural practice that has been globalized, but adapted to suit cultural customs of particular setting. For example, the most popular courses offered at Northwestern University deal with Middle Eastern studies, or Islam. Most schools also offer classes in Arabic. Moreover, parties and school events do not serve alcohol. Many professors who have come to teach in these branch campuses speak Arabic or have experience in Middle Eastern studies. Although Qatar Foundation is a non-profit organization, the government will benefit from its presence greatly. One of the major publicity stunts was the labeling of Barcelona shirts with Qatar Foundation. This will create a lot of publicity and knowledge about QF. Also, it will open opportunities for growth. Finally, the students that graduate from Qatar Foundation will seek jobs that will contribute to society.

The placement of American Universities in an Arab, Muslim country has defiantly stirred a lot of controversy. Resistance came from those were concerned with the “brainwashing” or students. Also, supporting our enemy financially. Some were concerned with the openness that will result. Many people were concerned with the lack of Arab professors and staff. We must also consider the resistance from America to send people here. I heard several times that some professors had difficulty coming here because their families were worried they would be living in a danger zone. Having American education has had many consequences. On a positive note, the students are well rounded and cultured. They receive high-quality education with top professors. The job opportunities for them are greater than regular students. It has helped cultures come together and learn. However, conservatives oppose having Western-influence on education, lifestyle and ideas. Many people argue that on the long-term American education will erode the Arabic language and identity.

Cultural Diffusion and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar!

Tears dropped from many eyes at the moment when FIFA announced its decision on December 2 that Qatar would host the 2022 World Cup. Some cried because of happiness and excitement and others for different reasons!

It’s very interesting and challenging to know that Qatar is the first country among the Muslim world and in the Middle East to host such an important global event.
I believe that one of the most significant expectations from this host is that it will bring the whole world closer to the Middle East and create multi-cultural ties across the region with the world.



In sociology, this process of cultural exchange is described briefly by many sociologists under the term “Cultural Diffusion.” Cultural diffusion, as first conceptualized by the Alfred L. Kroeber , is a process where the spreading of ideas or products from one culture to another occurs.

In short words, as Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser Al Missned mentioned in her presentation, this event aims to pull countries closer together through football.

Therefore the social, cultural and perceptional value of this event is much more than the financial value for Qatar, the Middle East and the whole world. It will not only affect trade and economy, it will also encourages tourism, brings the entire world together in a small village and makes Qatar a well-known country. It will enhance the relations between different countries and cultures. For example, through this event, Qatar would be able to introduce the authentic traditions and norms of Islam blurred by negative media publicity.

FIFA World Cup 2022 would provide Qatar with the opportunity to introduce Arab and Islamic values and traditions to the rest of the world. In addition to that, the arrival of many tourists, journalists, and sports and business people from around the world to Qatar would cause a social and cultural transformation that would lead to a better understanding of the Qatari heritage, culture, norms and values. People would be able to exchange knowledge and enrich their social skills with other cultures.



In conclusion, Qatar looks forward to benefit in different sectors from this special event and is welling to share this advantage with the whole world.